One Dragon’s lunch, Another Dragon’s World
by TfpUnicron
Summary: Royan was raised differently. He has never had a normal life. When something happens to the one who raised him, he will do anything to get her back, no matter the risk. He will get himself into a lot of trouble and great adventure.
1. Prologue

~~~~~Prologue~~~~~

It was a cold, bright night. Colder still down in the canyon. The three moons were full for the first time in a long time.

Kita heard the roars of dragons as she walked. She was so facinated by them and she knew they were dangerous but she was always drawn to them. Her parents lectured her often about how dangerous dragons were and why she had to stay away from them.

She had just run away from home, again. But this time she had gotten lost and had walked for days and days. She'd thought she had traveled miles, not knowing which direction was home.

Her stomach rumbled so loud it could be classified as a dragon.

When she looked up, she saw a bright red shape hidden behind large rocks. She walked over to investigate.

It was a dragon egg. It was huge. She guessed it was a SkyWing egg based on the color.

She ran her hand across the hard shell. It was cold.

She turned it on it's side rolled it over to a small cave.

She heard commotion coming from above on top of the cliff. There were three SandWings, an IceWing, and another large SkyWing egg. One of the SandWings had many scars all over her body. The IceWing was on the ground with a burning hot chain on his snout. The SandWing was juggling the egg from one talon to another, but then she dropped it. It fell all the way down to the chasm floor. Then she saw the IceWing tumbling down with a wound behind his head and his wings mangled and bloodied.

She had to decide wether to keep and hatch the egg or to just leave it. The dragon inside could protect her in the long run, but raising it would be a big responsibility. And she knew nothing of how to hatch or raise a dragon. She was willing to take a risk.

Just as she made the decision, it began to wobble. Cracks began to form, and shards began to fall.

Soon, a hole appeared. A dragon eye opened and peered at her. The rest of the egg fell apart. And lying there was a baby SkyWing. He was a beautiful crimson red. It looked up at Kita with bright amber eyes still covered in goop from being being in the egg. He shook it off.

It started to crawl over to her. She reached out to pet it. He sniffed her hand for a moment, then leaned into her hand. It chirped and snuggled in to her lap. She rubbed his shoulder as he slept. He made a purring sound as Kita stroked him.

"You're cuter than I thought you'd be", Kita said quietly.

He chiruped at her in response.

"Gotta think of a name for you", she said, "How about Royan?"

He looked up at her with cheerful expression and puffed smoke out his nose at her.

She looked over to the shattered egg beside the IceWing corpse. There was a SeaWing peeking out from behind a pile of rocks. It went over to a shard of the egg and took it to a large cave with a boulder blocking the entrance.

"Ok, Royan", said Kita, "let's go find you some food."

She scooped him up in her arms and cradled him. Royan let out a cute growl and looked at her with an angry expression.

He squirmed out of her grip and climbed onto her shoulders. He wraped his tail around her neck and held his head up high to look around. Just as he spied the broken IceWing and shattered egg Kita pulled his head in close.

"Best not to look at that right now", she whispered to him.

He licked her face and she giggled.

The two of them walked off into the night, and into a dangerous world.


	2. Chapter1

~~~~~Chapter 1~~~~~

_Seven years later_

"Kita", said Royan, tapping her on her shoulder, "wake up."

"Noooo", Kita answers sleepily, batting his talon away.

"Happy birthday", Royan said.

"Five more minutes", Kita answers.

"It's almost midday!" Royan said, "You need to get up! Don't want to waste away an important day!"

"Ugh, fine", Kita said sitting up. She stretches and yawns. Royan loves to see her awake in the morning. He wanted to protect her with all of his soul.

"Close your eyes", said Royan, "I'll go get your present."

"You got me a present?" Kita asked closing her eyes.

He trots off away from the campsite to find the carving he had hidden. It was stashed in an old badger den.

"There you are", he said picking it up. It was carved from maple wood. It was a carving of Royan and Kita. They were flying over mountains. Kita was smiling up at Royan while sitting in the saddle on his shoulders, Royan was twisting his head to smile back at her.

He made his way back to the campsite with the carving.

"Took you long enough", Kita calls as he entered the clearing.

"Okay", said Royan, "open them."

She opened her eyes and her face lit up as she saw the carving. He handed it to her.

"You made this?" Kita asked.

"Yeah", said Royan.

"I love it!" Kita said.

She lunged forward and hugged his leg. Royan lowers his head and pressed his chin against her back.

"I figured today would be a good day to give this to you because today's the day we find your home", Royan said after a moment.

"Royan, I've already told you", Kita said, pulling away, "home is wherever you are. That became clear to me seven years ago on the brightest night."

"I know, I just...", Royan said, "Don't you miss your family?"

Kita sat down in the grass and Royan layed beside her.

"I do, Royan. But it's just that...I want to stay with you, and they'd try to kill you. Everyone is scared of dragons, and that means they'll kill any dragon without hesitation."

"But if we could try to talk them-"

"No, Royan! You can't talk people out of their fear!"

He curled his neck around to set his head in her lap. He looked up at her with sad eyes. They sat in silence for a while as Kita ran her hand over his snout.

**It must be awful for her** Royan thought **Being torn between wanting to stay with her best friend and her protector and wanting to go home to her family.**

"C'mon", Kita said, "let's get your saddle on."

He lifted his head to let her up. She walked over to the saddle and saddle pad. Kita slept on the saddle and used the pad as a blanket at night while Royan slept beside her.

Royan followed her and crouched down to make it easier for Kita. She draped the pad on his shoulders and moved it around until it was in the right position. He reached over to pick up the saddle and placed it on his back, as it was too heavy for Kita to lift. She shifted the saddle until it sat comfortably on his shoulders. She latched to buckle in front of his front legs, then the second latch behind them. She then clamped the metal circles fitted around his legs. She took out a buckle from a saddle bag and attached the two circles together. She put the carving in a large saddle bag.

"Okay, done", Kita said when she finished, "Wanna go visit Gaberiel?"

"Sure", Royan answered. Gaberiel was a blacksmith that they had met three years ago. Thankfully he was quite fond of dragons as well so he was willing to make them a saddle. Royan liked Gaberiel. He always gave him perfectly cooked goat meat.

Kita hopped into the saddle and fastened her buckle to the saddle to keep her on.

Royan went over to an apple tree. He stood on his hind legs and gripped the tree with his talons. He shook it vigorously making apples fall to the ground. Kita caught a couple of apples and began to munch on them for breakfast.

Royan took to the air, staying steady so Kita could eat comfortably.

He felt the wind barely graise his scales. He loved to feel the air under his wings lifting him higher above the world. He was sure Kita loved it too.

Kita tossed the final apple core to the ground. Now they could have some fun.

He tucked in his wings and went into a dive.

When he neared the ground he spread his wings and went straight up. He beat his wings to the rhythm of his heart. He inhaled and exhaled to the beat of his wings.

This was where they were both meant to be. Above the world when no one even knew.


	3. Chapter2

~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~

Gaberiel's house was at the base of the mountain range. It was well hidden from the air so Royan always had trouble finding it.

When he landed he could hear metal striking metal, which meant Gaberiel was in his workshop.

His workshop was a sturdy building built to keep out the rain. It was surrounded by curtains on all sides. Not too far away was the barn, where he kept his sturdy work horse, Epona. Behind the barn was a stream with a small bridge crossing it. A little further was the cave where Gaberiel lived.

Kita jumped off and went to the workshop. She lifted the curtain and tied it so she and Royan could look inside. Inside there was a large furnace where he heated metal and glass. There were racks of spears, swords, shields, crossbows, and other kinds of weaponry. By the furnace there was a pile of broken weapons and shattered glass. Gaberiel was hammering a blade on the anvil in the center of the workshop. He was a bulky man, with a scruffy beard.

"Hi, Gabe!" Kita called.

"Ah. Kita! Royan!" Gabe said looking up at them, "Big sixteen! You excited?"

"I guess", Kita shrugged.

"So, I was hoping you two would help me with something", Gabe said as he approached.

"With what?" asked Royan.

"I have a large shipment of supplies that I need to deliver to the village, but it's much too heavy for Epona to make one trip, and you know how much I don't want to make multiple trips. But Royan may be able to pull the weight."

"Oh, I don't know if I should go to the village", answered Royan, "What if I scare them?"

"I've told the village about you. I think they're ready for you", said Gabe.

"Are you sure?" Royan asked.

"Positive", Gabe said, "So, are up for it?"

"It would be fun to meet some new people, Royan", said Kita.

Royan thought for a moment.

"I guess we could give it a shot", he said.

"Great!" Gabe said, "I'll have to make harness to fit you to attach to the cart."

"How long?" Kita asked.

"Shouldn't be too long", said Gabe, "if you help."

"Okay, what do we have to do?" Kita asked.

"Start by getting wood from the pile out back", Gabe said, "Make sure it's dry."

"On it!" Kita exclaimed turning away.

"And Royan, when she gets back with the wood I want you to light the fire. Blow your fire down the chimney", said Gabe, "But for now, go to the tack room in the barn and find the collar for Epona. I want to see if it fits you."

Royan nodded in response. He did what Gabe asked.

The barn itself was large enough for Royan to enter without crouching down. The tack room had two sliding doors barely tall enough for him to squeeze through.

He used his claw to separate the doors and slid them away from each other.

He poked his head inside. There were leather straps, bridles, and other kinds of tack hanging up all along the back wall. He spotted the collar and reached in to pull it out.

He struggled to hook his claw on the collar for a few minutes. After a while he knocked it off the the wall and managed to drag it closer to him.

"Got it", he said lifting it up.

He heard Epona nicker from her stall. He looked to see her tossing her head about and neighing.

"Oh you shush", he told her.

Epona was massive for a horse. She was a pretty chocolaty brown with a star on her forehead. She was used to Royan coming close to her so she wasn't bothered by his presence. Frankly, Royan was surprised that she wouldn't be able to pull the weight of this shipment. It must be huge.

Royan walked out with the collar and over to the others. He placed it on the ground beside Gaberiel.

"Now go light the fire", Gabe ordered.

Royan circled the workshop until he was as close to the chimney as he could be. He stood on his hind legs, stuck his snout in the chimney, summoned his fire, and gently blew.

"Alright that's good!" he heard Kita call.

He circled back around to the others.

As he expected, the logs in the furnace were on fire. He saw a grate just above the fire with several chunks of meat. His mouth watered at the sight of it.

"Okay, let's see if it fits you", said Gabe lifting the collar.

Royan bent his down to his level to let Gabe put it over his head. He stuck his snout through it. It covered most of his vision as it went over his eyes. The collar caught on his horns for second, then Gabe pushed it a little and continued to glide down his neck. Soon it sat a little uncomfortably on his shoulders, but it was an almost perfect fit. It was heavier than expected.

"Perfect!" Gabe exclaimed patting Royan on his neck, "Kita, can you get the tack for the cart?"

"Sure", said Kita, turning away and jogging towards the barn.

Gaberiel went to unlatch all of the buckles on Royan's saddle. He set the saddle and saddle pad beside a pile of metal circles just like the two on his saddle.

Kita came back carrying a lot of leather straps and plopped all of them beside Gabe. He took a couple of the metal circles and a leather strap and latched the strap on one circle and then the next. He clamped one circle around Royan's leg, then placed strap on his back. He went around his other side and clamped the other circle. Gabe took another strap and latched the two circles together underneath. He took two shorter straps and attached the circles to the collar.

"That should work", Gabe said as he finished, "We'll leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we can have dinner."

Gabe took all of it off Royan and put it in a separate pile. He then went over to the furnace took the meat off the grate, he put two on plates and tossed the third up in the air for Royan. He turned his head toward it and caught it in jaws in midair.

He layed down and began to savor the meat, tearing off little strips one at a time.

As he ate he thought of what tomorrow would bring. He was a little frightened. In the meantime, he would just enjoy the time with his friends.


	4. Chapter3

~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~

The sun shined down warmly on Royan's face. It was a perfect day to fly.

"Ready to go, Royan?" Gabe called from inside the workshop.

**Oh. Right **he thought **Gonna be pulling a cart all day and not flying, of all days.**

"I'm coming", Royan said through a yawn.

He sat up and stretched out his neck and wings.

Gabe came over to Royan and put the tack on the same way as the day before.

The cart was already packed and ready beside the workshop, but it had a second cart attached to the back of it with same amount of crates.

He saw Kita leading Epona away from the barn fully tacked up with a saddle and bridle. She looked tiny beside Epona.

"Let's get ya hooked up", said Gabe as he went over to the carts. Royan followed and positioned himself in front just like Epona would be. There were two long wooden poles attached to the front of the cart with two straps on each. Gabe lifted one up to Royan's shoulder and clipped one strap to the metal ring and the other one to the collar, and did the same on the other side. Royan had to hold his tail underneath the cart which he wasn't too comfortable with, and the poles kept rubbing up against his side and hitting his elbows.

Kita handed Gabe the reins of Epona. She went over to Royan clambered up on his back as Gabe mounted Epona.

"Okay, we're all set", said Gabe clicking his tongue and nudging Epona into a walk.

Royan took a step and put his weight into the collar. It pressed against his shoulders. The metal rings were rubbing a lot more than the ones on his saddle. He took a few more steps and the weight of the cart eased up a little. He liked to wave his tail side to side when walking, but it kept getting caught on the wheels. And he had to keep his wings directly up to avoid rubbing on the poles. The ground was a bit uneven so the cart bounced from side to side throwing off his gait. He didn't know how Epona could tolerate this.

"How far away is the village?" Royan asked.

"About two days", Gabe called back.

Up ahead he spotted what seemed to be a trail wide enough for the cart. When they reached it the cart was bouncing a lot less and it rolled along easier. The wheels kept rolling over his tail so eventually he just had to drag it. He thought the tip of his tail would be completely purple by the time they got there.

The poles were rubbing and shifting and kept getting caught on his scales. He growled low and tossed his head.

"What's wrong?" Kita asked.

"The poles" Royan said, "they're rubbing and giving me splinters, and I think the tip of my tail is purple."

The cart hit a bump and one single scale caught on the pole and lifted, pulling the thin skin underneath. He growled much louder this time.

"There're covers for the poles in the front of the cart if that'll help", said Gabe.

Kita stood on his back and walked down his spine while Royan was in motion. Royan bumped his hip up to give her a boost and she leaped from his hips and into the cart. She moved things around for a minute until she hopped out onto the ground with thick leather sheets with three buckles on each. Kita jogged up beside Royan and wrapped one around the pole and fastened it and did the same for the other one. After she finished she climbed back up on Royan's back.

"How's that?" she asked.

"Better", he answered. His scales were catching a lot less and the leather was soft, the tips kept hitting his elbows though.

Suddenly, Epona stopped in her tracks. She swiveled her ears and looked around. Her nostrils flared. Royan pricked his ears to listen as well. There was commotion a little ways away, but he couldn't make it out.

Epona started tossing her head and side stepping.

"Woah, easy girl", Gabe said trying to calm her down. She started rearing up and pawing the ground.

"Somethin's spooking her", Gabe said, "Let's speed up and get away from this area to calm her down."

Gabe edged her into a canter. Royan cantered as well.

She winnied and bolted into a gallop. Royan pushed his legs to catch up with them, but the cart was holding him back.

Epona went out of sight. Royan continued to run as fast as he could.

After a few minutes he found Epona stopped with Gaberiel still on. They were both out of breath. Epona hung her head low.

"You good?" Kita asked.

"Yeah, we're fine", Gabe said, "I don't know what got her so spooked, she's always chill in the woods."

"I did hear a little commotion a little ways away, but I couldn't make it out", said Royan.

Gabe looked up at the setting sun. "We'll walk a little further and then settle down for the night."

And so they did. Royan kept trying to figure out what he had heard. It was large. Could've been a bear, but he just didn't know.


	5. Chapter4

~~~~~Chapter 4~~~~~

Royan couldn't sleep. His body was sore but his wings were completely fine. He really needed to fly after a whole day of just pulling a cart. He lifted his head and looked up at the stars, then back down to the others. He decided to sneak away for a quick fly. It wouldn't be too long. He walked away from the others as to not wake them when he took off. They would be safe for a few minutes alone, right?

Everyone would think that night would be silent, but in fact it was louder than day. The crickets buzzed in his ears like they were in his head.

Something bugged him about the way Epona spooked that day. He knew her well. She was a calm horse. Never spooked at anything. Barely flinched when a rabbit would run across her path. Then why had she bolted all of a sudden?

He prepared his wings and stretched out all his muscles. He was just about to take off when he heard a large branch snap. He turned to see what it was.

"Get down!" a voice called just before something slammed into him. He rolled down a steep hill with tall reeds. He kept rolling down until someone pinned him against the ground.

"Shhhhh", the voice said clamping his mouth shut. They waited in the reeds for a long moment before he heard voices above.

"Where'd she go?"

"How could you lose her that easily?"

"Hey, over here!"

The voices vanished as suddenly as they showed up.

He struggled and kicked and lashed his tail trying to get free.

"If you want to live than don't make a sound!" the stranger whispered.

He had to get back. He had to protect Kita and Gabe!

He started to panick. Where they going to find his friends? Would they hurt them? His heart was pumping so fast he thought it would burst out his chest.

Who was this dragon? Did she want something? Where those dragons looking for her? Where had she come from? What was happening?!

They sat there for a long time. Too long. He had to get back immediately.

Finally the one pinning him to the ground unclamped his mouth and let him up. He bolted up and whirled to look at them.

She was a SandWing. She had dark brown stripes on her snout, wingtips, legs, and tail barb. She wore a black feather earring in her left ear and a black cloak with a gold trim. Royan stared into her black eyes. They were like blackholes calling to him and pulling him in. They were soft and fierce. She held herself elegantly, relaxed but ready for battle. His mind was telling him to run and protect his friends, yet another part of him told him to stay.

"Sorry about that", she whispered, "You know how it is when you're on the run. I'm Mirage by the way. You?"

"Royan", he answered after a moment. His mind was spinning, from what he didn't know.

"Nice to meet you, Royan", said Mirage.

**Oh **Royan thought **she's polite, too.**

What was he thinking? He shouldn't care whether she was polite or not! He had to make sure everyone was alright, then why was he still here?!

"So, what's your story?" she asked.

"I'm sorry", said Royan.

"What are you doing so far from the Sky kingdom? You're running from something, I can tell."

"Uhhhhhh..."

"I hear something over here!" a voice called to his left.

"I have to go", Mirage said, "Remember, I wasn't here." And then she ran off without a sound.

Two more SandWings came running up to him. His first instinct was to fly away, but for some reason he stayed put.

"You!" one of the SandWings barked, "Have you seen another SandWing around here? About your age?"

"Uhhhh, no. No I haven't", Royan responded trying to hide the fear in his voice. They scared him a lot. These SandWings wore the same cloak Mirage had. They had dragon skull tattoos on their necks. They had a lot of scars too.

"Up here!" another one called from the top of the hill. The two with Royan sprinted up.

**Three moons **he thought **how many are there?**

As soon as all dragons were out of sight, he took off sprinting. He didn't stop until he got to the others. If anything happened to them he couldn't live with himself.

He silently skidded to a stop when he entered the clearing.

They were in the same place as he had left them. He layed down comfortably knowing that they were safe.

He tried to keep his thoughts focused on tomorrow but they just kept circling back to Mirage. Something about her was...different. Was it the eyes? Her coloring? The way she held herself? He knew he shouldn't care, but he did anyway. He probably wasn't ever going to see her again. Then why did that make him sad?

His last thought was her eyes just before he drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter5

**Oragonking- He does a little. Him and Kita have their suspicions of war amongst the tribes but they are not certain. He knows all the types of dragons and their abilities but what he doesn't know is that no one can understand scavengers or that they call them scavengers.**

~~~~~Chapter 5~~~~~

They were walking when the sun was barely coming up on the horizon. Soft orange strokes of light grazed the east side of the sky. At this hour the stars could not be seen. It reminded him of Mirage's eyes. He was more than troubled by her, he was lost. This feeling was different from the kind he had with Kita. Perhaps this was temporary.

He felt something shift on his shoulders. He remembered that Kita was curled up and Gabe was snuggled in the cart trying to get a few more extra hours of sleep. He focused his mind on them.

A sudden question came to his mind.

Why?

Why protect Kita?

He immediately shook off the thought. She had _raised _him. She trusts him with her life. She was important to him. An enormous stab of guilt filled his mind and tore his heart for even thinking of that question.

Before last night, his mind was always clear. Protect Kita, make her happy, and travel. That was his mindset for his entire life. But last night happened, and he was a little confused to say the least.

Voices from nearby tore through the silence of the morning and snapped Royan into alertness.

Him and Epona walked a little further until he saw a SkyWing with smoke billowing from her nostrils and lots of jewelry. She was looking down on a MudWing with a worried expression while a deep blue SeaWing was holding a sword behind the SkyWing and readying to stab the her in the tail.

Royan stayed hidden while the SeaWing stabbed the glittery SkyWing. A painful roar tore through the crisp morning air.

Gabe and Kita were still asleep and Epona was spooked. They trotted along as quietly as they could while the SkyWing struggled.

_What just happened? _he thought.

**Time skip**

It was midafternoon by the time Gabriel announced they would be approaching the village soon.

His heart pounded with anticipation. Were they ready for him? Gabe has told them that this village has a fortified wall with a huge ballista.

A shudder flowed through his wings, but not from the mention of the ballista; it was from something else. It felt like the scales on his back had moved away from each other and a cool breeze seeped through and pierced the delicate skin underneath.

"What's wrong, Royan?" Kita asked.

"Feels like I'm being watched", he replied.

"Ah, I get that all the time", she said, "Don't worry. You're probably just anxious about going to the village."

"Maybe."

He hadn't told them about what happened early that morning or the night before. He didn't feel the need to but he and Kita had promised to keep no secrets between them. He then began to feel guilty.

"So", he started, "early this morning when you were still asleep, I saw a few dragons. A MudWing, a SeaWing, and very glittery SkyWing."

"Haven't seen a SeaWing with a SkyWing or MudWing that wasn't attacking", Gabe said.

"She attacked the SkyWing and then flew off with the MudWing", Royan replied.

"The MudWing and SeaWing were together?" Kita asked.

"I think so", he said.

"Weird. I've noticed hostility between the SeaWings with the MudWings and SkyWings for at least 15 years", said Gabe, "Pretty sure there's a war."

"If it is", Royan said, "I don't ever want to be a part of it."

He was about to tell them about Mirage when Gabe spoke up.

"Royan", Gabe said, "it's best if you wait here for now so I can tell the village you're coming."

Up ahead, the path swerved to the right onto an incline right up the side of a cliff face. Gabe trotted ahead on Epona, posting up and down with the rhythm of her trot.

Every second that passed his heart seemed to beat faster. He couldn't keep his wings from shuddering.

After a few minutes he heard Epona's thundering hoof beats coming down the path. She emerged with Gabe. He waved to him to come. Royan took a deep breath and started forward. The cart pulled back on him as he went up the slope. The wall of the village came into view.

It was much taller than him. A large wooden door blocked the entrance. On top of the wall stood fierce-looking archers glaring down at him.

The door opened and he stepped through. Inside the wall wasn't quite what he was expecting.

There several levels of buildings that seemed to be embedded in the cliff face. The higher levels were connected with walk ways, ladders, and stairs. Several doors lead into the wall itself where he assumed supplies would be stored, as ladders were used to get on top of the wall.

Many people stopped what they were doing to look at him with bewilderment. Children would look at him with excitement but were stopped by their fearful parents. The entire village seemed silent except for a few fearful murmurs here and there.

_Pull yourself together, Royan! You're not a fearful dragon! You are powerful! Kita survived all these years because of you! _he scolded himself.

"It's okay everyone!" Gabe called out as he dismounted, "He's friendly!"

Kita unlatched him but he stayed where he was as to not frighten anyone. He felt he was as anxious as everyone.

"Go ahead", Kita said to him, "introduce yourself."

"They're scared of me", he whispered to her, "they're not ready."

"Fine. I'll do it", she said, "Everyone, meet Royan. Don't worry, he's more scared than you are."

He heard yelp of fear and saw a child yank away from his mother's grasp and jogged up to him. He reached up with his short arms and said, "'ragon!"

Royan hesitantly lowerd his head and let the child pet him.

"Jack, get back here right now!" his mother called to him.

Jack started poking around in his mouth and nostrils. Royan chuckled knowing that Jack was comfortable around him.

A few more older kids walked up and started to gently pet him on his neck. Some soldiers eventually gathered the crates from the cart and set them by them wall. His anxiety melted away as more and more people gathered the courage to walk closer to him. Curious murmurs sprang amongst the kids.

"He's pretty!"

"Look at the size of his wings!"

"Does he breathe fire?"

"Why is his tail bruised?"

"I wonder if he can understand us?"

"I can understand you", Royan said, "Why wouldn't I?"

Surprised gasps sounded through the group.

"So cool!"

"How fast can you fly?"

"How hot is your fire?"

A strong, tall woman started pushing her way through the crowd and forced them to step back. She pointed a spear at him and he jumped back.

"Let's get one thing straight, dragon", she said fiercely, "we will tolerate you because we trust Gaberiel, but I don't trust you. Understood?"

"He's fine!" Kita jumped in, "I trust him with my life! I raised him!"

"Doesn't mean he isn't planning to eat you", she said.

"Eat?" Royan said surprised, "I wouldn't 'eat' anyone! Why would I do that?

"You're a dragon! It's what you do!"

"Definitely NOT me", he said. He knew this would happen. He should've expected it.

"General", Gabe said, "I assure you that Royan is as gentle as Epona and even more caring and loyal. And since he's here, maybe he would help defend the village from other dragons. If he's willing too."

"Yeah", he said, "I'll do it. I promise I won't be any trouble. I'll help with anything you need me to."

"Fine", the general said, "but I'm watching you." And with that she walked off.

The kids gathered around him again and started grabbing his talons and inspecting him closely as if he were a foreign object.

One shy girl walked to him quietly and lifted a wood carving of a dragon.

Some people may be sceptical about him, but at least some weren't afraid. He thought that everything would be fine and he would stay a while.


End file.
